The issue was raised by senior Congress MLA Siddharth Patel while participating in the debate on the motion Thanks to the Governor’s Address to the House. The ruling BJP has no right to talk about terrorism, he said, asking why the government was not removing Kodnani from the Cabinet.

This triggered noisy scenes in the House, with the ruling BJP members countering the Opposition onslaught. Later, the Congress members walked out of the House.

Outside the Assembly, Leader of the Opposition Shaktisinh Gohil told reporters that the HC today took the cognisance of an application seeking to cancel Kodnani’s anticipatory bail and also issued a notice in this regard. It is the constitutional responsibility of the government to act and remove Kodnani from the ministry, he added.

Gohil said he will lead a delegation of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) members to the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday and urge the Governor to initiate appropriate action against the Modi government for its failure to remove Kodnani from the ministry.

He told Newsline that it was the duty of the state government to ensure free and fair investigation into the case, adding that the continuation of Kodnani as a minister might impede this.